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Introduction

The sphere of corporate social responsibility (hereinafter – CSR) occupies an important place in the policies of international companies, since it affects both the financial condition of the company and its business reputation. Global trends using the example of Europe and the United States show that companies have accumulated considerable experience in applying this approach in business, while Russian companies only recently began to use it in their activities and, thus, the concept of corporate social responsibility is not yet sufficiently developed.
Author's definition of CSR: CSR is the methods and principles of doing business, aimed at increasing its profitability and the value of intangible assets by complying with ethical, environmental and social norms prescribed by law and developed by society.

Тhe object of the research is corporate social responsibility of business. The subject of the research is the development of corporate social responsibility in Russian and foreign oil and gas companies.

The relevance of CSR issues is also caused by globalization processes in the global economy and the world market. In the face of growing competition in the global economic space, transnational corporations are constantly looking for ways to increase their influence on the market. In the course of work, such companies face a large number of requirements that force them to pay increasing attention to the social sphere of their activities. From this it follows that companies need to find a rational balance of economic and social results of their activities in order to surpass their competitors in the global market. The use of CSR practices gives companies certain privileges in their production activities, allowing them to increase intangible assets.

Oil and gas companies are still the strategic enterprises of some countries that form a large or significant part of the budgets of states. ExxonMobil and Lukoil are attracting particular interest for CSR analysis, as they are leading companies in the production of oil and gas, both nationally and internationally.

Analysis of previous studies and publications

Scientific publications and research of both domestic and foreign authors are devoted to theoretical and practical aspects of CSR. An important role in the development of the concept of CSR was played by the economists M. Friedman, A. Burley and G. Minze, G. Bowen, A. Carroll, C. Walton, J. McGuire, and others. It can be noted that in Russia research on this topic was started relatively recently and, although the number of studies on this topic is increasing every year, there remain a number of unfinished issues related to the Russian specifics of CSR implementation. Among Russian authors, who covered aspects of CSR in their work, we can highlight such researchers as Yu. E. Blagov, G.L. Tulchinsky, O. A. Kanaeva, I. Yu. Belyaev.

Despite a large amount of research into the specifics of the implementation and implementation of CSR, there is no single definition of this concept.
For example, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development gives the following definition: “CSR is a concept according to which companies on a voluntary basis take into account social and environmental factors in their business processes and in their relations with interested parties” [1].

According to the author, the most complete definition of the concept of CSR is formulated by experts in the field of standardization and is reflected in the International Standard ISO 26000 “Guide to Social Responsibility”. It states that “social responsibility is the responsibility of an organization for the impact of its decisions and activities on society and the environment through transparent and ethical behavior, which: promotes sustainable development, including the health and well–being of society; takes into account the expectations of interested parties; complies with applicable law and is consistent with international standards of conduct; integrated into the activities of the entire organization and used in its relationships "[2].

Purpose of the study

The aim of the study is to conduct a comparative analysis and identify common and different features in the practice of applying and developing CSR in Russian and American oil and gas corporations.

The main results of the study

To implement the goal set in the study, we will conduct a comparative analysis of the practice of applying and developing CSR in the Russian transnational corporation Lukoil and the American company ExxonMobil. The Lukoil Company adopted the Social Code, the document is a tool for applying internal and external CSR strategies for the company.

Special reports (Sustainability Report, Corporate Responsibility Report, etc.) of companies, including social responsibility, often refer to the principles of UN sustainable development; environmental and social indicators are aligned with the recommendations of the Global Reporting Initiative. Oil and gas companies are united in associations – the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the International Association of Oil and Gas Industry Environmental and Social Issues IPIECA). The Western companies listed above are members of both associations; Russian companies represented by Bashneft are represented only in the second.

Finally, companies positioning themselves as socially responsible are evaluating new projects, taking into account the indirect impact on society. If in some countries information on environmental risks is required in order to obtain permission to enter new capacities, then social risks and ways to mitigate them are noted by companies voluntarily. ExxonMobil has fixed its strategic intentions in the field of CSR in the program document Health, Safety and Environmental Policy.


It should be noted that in the companies under consideration there are high standards of environmental protection and standards for ensuring industrial safety. Lukoil continuously invests in the disposal of industrial waste. This is the implementation of the principle of responsibility, which operates throughout the entire product life cycle, and thanks to it, the best available technologies are introduced. With these actions, Lukoil fulfills the decisions of the Government of the Russian Federation regarding the new system of environmental regulation.

Nevertheless, in spite of the goals with which companies follow the concept of CSR, they receive the following benefits as a result:
– through education and health programs, the quality of local labor available to the company is improved;
– subsidization of access to energy and assistance to local businesses will allow in the long run to obtain a stable demand for the company's products;
– the creation and repair of related infrastructure allows you to avoid emergency situations and even higher costs to eliminate the consequences of accidents;
– assistance to the poor population causes a positive response from potential investors and workers, human rights activists, representatives of supervisory authorities.
The results of the management system at Lukoil are evaluated on the basis of monitoring, which consists of the following components: audits, production control, corporate oversight. Key performance indicators in the field of industrial safety, labor protection and the environment are developed at all levels of management and are subject to rationing and measurement.

In 2012, the requirements of the Government of the Russian Federation came into effect, according to which, since 2012, increasing coefficients have been introduced for payments for emissions of pollutants exceeding 5% of the volume of produced associated petroleum gas. If 95% of associated petroleum gas utilization is not achieved, emissions from flare systems are considered to be above–limit (increasing factors are applied). In 2015, the company increased the level of associated petroleum gas utilization to 88.0%, which is significantly higher than the average Russian indicator (78.9%). Over the past 5 years, the company has invested about 215 billion rubles in environmental protection and environmental safety measures (most of which went to repay environmental payments and fines, because it has not yet reached the 95% utilization level). Since environmental charges and fines dramatically increased the company's costs, the company had to reduce emissions of pollutants, that is, measures to increase the utilization of associated petroleum gas were taken more for the benefit of the company from a financial point of view than from the point of view of compliance with CSR standards.
ExxonMobil, planning a new large project, is analyzing the possible consequences of environmental impact, socio–economic sphere and human health. Primarily, roads, pipelines or equipment are analyzed and researched, which may become sources of such exposure, then a risk assessment is conducted and a strategy is developed to eliminate or reduce these risks. This mechanism is launched for the entire operation of the new project. In this company, unlike Lukoil, project management is more flexible and is at the stage of continuous improvement and analysis of changes.

Lukoil is an active and regular participant in regional projects aimed at improving the lives of local people in the regions where they operate. The company also has established contacts with local authorities, which is associated with the joint implementation of social projects (Table 1).

Table 1 – Types of social responsibility of the company "LUKOIL" [3]


Виды социальной ответственности компании <q>ЛУКОЙЛ</q>

The implementation of social and charitable programs is one of the primary strategic goals of the company, which makes it possible to cooperate and develop relations with government bodies and local governments, as well as regional communities. This Lukoil contributes to the improvement of the socio–economic situation of the regions as an economic entity.
A key focus of social spending “ExxonMobil in the United States is the National Initiative on Physics and Mathematics — it is the largest corporate social program in the United States and around the world aimed at improving the quality of American school education in the exact sciences. In 2007, ExxonMobil became the founding partner of this initiative, investing $ 125 million in its long–term development. The close cooperation of ExxonMobil and a number of other large corporations interested in training highly qualified technical personnel with the federal government, state administrations, national academies and non–governmental foundations is one of the positive examples of public–private partnerships in the US social sphere.

However, it is indisputable that the company also allocates funds for the implementation of socially significant projects in countries other than the United States. These projects include a broad malaria control program in Africa and the Asia–Pacific region, large investments in vocational training and support for women’s and minority entrepreneurship in developing countries, as well as the development of social infrastructure.

Today, many oil and gas industry leaders follow roughly the same policy. The companies analyzed are similar in that they adhere to a strict policy to reduce emissions to the atmosphere and actively participate in the development of local communities. The similarity in CSR policies can be explained by the fact that companies adopt the experience of competing companies and, thus, copy each other's actions and because of this, the CSR policy in such companies has become similar.

So, we will show the differences in the policies of these oil and gas companies. First of all, Lukoil is a member of the UN Global Compact, and ExxonMobil is not. Many companies have chosen the path of introducing renewable energy sources and further development in this direction, while the American company prioritizes investing in projects related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

Consider a number of signs by which we can identify the differences between American and Russian companies.
1) The main stakeholders in terms of importance in ExxonMobil: personnel, consumers, community, shareholders; in "Lukoil" – the state, owners, staff, consumers.
2) The stimulating forces for the development of CSR in ExxonMobil are the corporation itself, non–profit organizations and the community, the state; in "Lukoil" – the state (supreme executive power), the corporation itself, local authorities.
3) The role of non–governmental and non–profit organizations in the business environment (in which ExxonMobil is located and which directly affects its activities):
numerous and diverse, one of the main engines that motivate or cooperate with business in CSR issues (Greenpeace, Business in the Community, etc.), a great influence on public opinion and real mechanisms of pressure on business as a whole. The influence of non–governmental organizations for the company "Lukoil": while relatively few, rather help to develop CSR, and are not its engine, CSR issues are not yet sufficiently known in society and do not have significant influence. 4) Social reporting trends: in ExxonMobil, social reporting is initiated by the company itself, social reporting standards are well adapted and widely applied, and also adapted for most stakeholders; in Lukoil, social reporting is mainly focused on the state and shareholders, and to a lesser extent on society.

The trends of Lukoil in implementing CSR policies:
– continuous improvement of the quality of its products;
– active financing of orphanages, educational, sports, medical and cultural institutions;
– implementation of own social projects;
– special attention to environmental issues;
– a regular participant in the life of local communities.

In this there is a similarity with ExxonMobil CSR. However, in the social direction of foreign CSR, the American company actively implements its own international projects to solve global problems. At the same time, Lukoil focuses mainly on single–type and local projects. The similarity of companies also lies in the fact that they take into account the opinions of interested parties and take into account their interests, thus, companies minimize their non–financial risks. The implementation of social and charitable programs on an ongoing basis enhances the reputation of companies, which is an additional advantage for investors. Nevertheless, the processes of CSR occur partially separately from other processes in the company, therefore, for various reasons, they may be urgently interrupted or suspended due to an unforeseen situation or due to unexpected difficulties, lack of resources, etc.

Conclusions

According to the results of the study, it can be said that the specifics of the use and development of CSR in Russian and foreign oil and gas companies is different. This is due to the peculiarities of the mentality, legislation and environmental conditions of the company as a whole. For Russian companies, a focus on compliance with the law is typical, with the goal of minimizing the risks of fines being imposed by the state, while for foreign companies, business development and lifestyle changes are a priority.

Bibliography

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